In just less than an hour, using simple “Google” searches, we’ve found six predator priests who’ve been in Atlanta but have never been exposed here as credibly accused child molesters. We suspect there are many more of them still “beneath the radar.” We also suspect that some of them have hurt kids here in Georgia and one or more of them may still be here, posing current threats to unsuspecting families, neighbors and co-workers.

That’s why we are urging Georgia citizens to help protect kids from these and other molesters, by pushing for a House Bill 17, the Georgia Hidden Predators Bill. This law would prevent more child sex crimes by enabling more victims to expose more predators. It would give anyone who was abused at any time by any predator to use the court system, over a two year period, to warn parents and the public about those who commit and conceal child molesters.

And we are urging Georgia’s religious leaders – including its two Catholic bishops - to push for this sorely-needed child safety measure too. All too often, church figures fight againststronger child safety laws, fearing more abuse and cover up lawsuits. But if religious officials haven’t hidden child sex crimes and act responsibly when abuse is suspected or uncovered, they have nothing to fear from this legislation.

Virtually none of these six predator priests we’ve uncovered have attracted any real attention in the Atlanta area. Virtually any of them could have hurt a Georgia kid. And again, one or two of them could be back here in Atlanta right now visiting former parishioners and assaulting one of their children.

At the risk of seeming too graphic, I want to stress that it takes just seconds for a man to put his tongue in a girl’s mouth or his hands down a boy’s pants.

Until we found these new names, there were at least eight already publicly accused predator priests in Georgia – six the Atlanta archdiocese (Fr. Clarence Biggers, Fr. Philip S. Gage, Fr. Stanley D. Idziak, Fr. Anton Mowat, Fr. Alberto Rodriguez and Fr. Louis P. Rogge) and two in the Savannah diocese (Fr. Wayland Yoder Brown and Fr. Robert Murphy.)

Thanks to brave victims and responsible journalists, police and prosecutors, many in the public are aware of these eight dangerous men. But again, few in Georgia know much, or anything at all, about the six names we’re revealing today. We strongly suspect there are many more child molesting clerics about whom the public should be warned and who are still being hidden by Georgia Catholic officials.

We especially beg those with information or knowledge about clergy crimes and cover ups to step forward. We beg every church official to get behind the Georgia Hidden Predators Bill.

And we call on Georgia Catholic officials - given their denomination’s painfully widespread, well documented and continuing abuse and cover up crisis – to push for this legislation.

And until it passes, we beg Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory and Savannah Bishop Gregory Hartmayer to post on their websites and in their church bulletins the names, photos and work histories of every child molesting cleric who lives/lived in Georgia, for the safety of children and the healing of victims.

The predator priests who were in Atlanta – and whom few, if anyone, in Georgia know about - include: Fr. Charles G. Coyle, Fr. Charles Arnold Bartles, Fr. William Groves, Fr. Jonathan W. Franklin, Fr. Anthony Jablonowski and Fr. Michael Keating. (Photos of Jablonowski and Keating are available at BishopAccountability.org.)

Here are details about each:

--Fr. Charles G. Coyle, a Jesuit who was suspended and is accused of molesting at least two boys and spent time in Boston MA, Houston TX, Mobile AL, New Orleans LA and Baltimore MD. (He was in Atlanta from 1991-1995 at Ignatius House.)

--Fr. Charles Arnold Bartles, a Jesuit who worked in Kansas, Florida, Alaska, Louisiana, Jamaica and Brazil and was, in 2010, accused of molesting at least one child. (He was at in Atlanta the Marist School, with about 700 students, from 1972-78.)

--Fr. Anthony “Tony” Jablonowski who worked or lived in Arizona, Florida and Ohio and pleaded no contest to 2004 charges of abusing of a teenager and was required to register as sex offender. (He worked at St. Mark’s Catholic church in Clarksville, Georgia in the Atlanta archdiocese.)

-- Fr. Robert D. Huneke, who faces at least three child sex abuse reports and was included in a grand jury investigation report in New York. (Around 2002, he worked as a high school guidance counselor in Atlanta at the Marist school.)

--Fr. William Groves who is now at a church despite having pled guilty to felony abuse of a boy and allegedly sheltering “runaway Indian and Hispanic kids and giving them drugs and alcohol.”(He received sex abuse counseling at a center in Atlanta in the 1990s, according to the Denver Post.)

--Gregory was the face of the 2002 Dallas Charter, a charter that has been proven to be completely ineffective at protecting children. In fact, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was found to be compliant in 2010, just months before the grand jury found 37 perpetrators in ministry. http://www.usccb.org/ocyp/annual-report-2010.pdf

Here’s why we think reforming the dangerously restrictive and archaic statute of limitations is the single most effective step we can take to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded.

History, psychology and common sense indicate that civil "windows" helps prevent future abuse in at least four ways:

1) Prevention through exposing predators.

The "window" enables victims to publicly expose the predators who hurt them, through the open, impartial, time-tested American judicial system, so that parents, neighbors and employers will know about potentially dangerous men and women.

2) Prevention through exposing enablers.

Through the balanced judicial process - depositions, discovery, interrogatories and sworn testimony - anyone who ignored a sex crime, shielded a molester, destroyed a document or deceived a victim’s family may also be exposed.

Georgia families deserve to know whether their pastor or day care center director or athletic association harbored a sex offender, stonewalled a prosecutor, or lied to a parent.

Without the "window," a supervisor who’s been lax about child safety has no incentive to change bad habits or work harder.

With the "window decision-makers will know that if they insensitively shun a victim or recklessly endanger a child, they may be exposed in court and face consequences for having done so.

4) Deterrence through financial consequences.

Passage of the "window" will prod defense lawyers, public relations staff and others to beef up child sex abuse prevention and education.

Concerned employees will start asking their supervisors "Do we do background checks on everyone here?" and "Are we ready for a potential lawsuit?"

Smart organizations will start or expand efforts to train adults about reporting abuse and teach kids about "safe touch," knowing that

- victims are less inclined to sue an institution that seems to take abuse seriously,

- judges and juries are more lenient with institutions that are already addressing the problem which led to a lawsuit.

This "window" makes Georgia kids safer, now and in the future.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We were founded in 1988 and have more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

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This is so great to see a press release from SNAP on the crisis in GA and how the Faith Community focused on Priest’s Abuse id documenting known threats to the State. As a Survivor of a Serial Predator Coach in the State of Georgia whether Priest of Youth Coach the grooming and wreckage all mirror the same results. Please join our Citizen Coalition by liking our Page and following the letter writing campaign and telephone campaign. ~Alan Fountain The GA Families for Justice site www.facebook.com/GFJustice or the Campaign Legislative and Arch Bishop letter writing campaign can be found at www.facebook.com/letters4support This is a real and ongoing threat to GA Public Safety and the Legislative Bill Committee has written one of the best Bill Drafts I have seen in modern History to both make GA families safer than ever in a century and will also help set a precedence to help other states across America. This is a Human and Civil rights issue and this Bill is the best HOPE Today. We have on our site the current House Judiciary Committee Contact number to Flood with calls to support passing House to next go to senate. FOLLOWTHIS AS OF FEBRUARY 14th, 2015. (IT DOES A PREDATORCLEANSINGACROSSSTATEINCREASINGODDS OF GETTINGPREDATORSREGISTERED. Contact URGENTLYOFFICE OF BARRYFLEMING Head Of Judiciary Sub Committee and ask to Pass Bill to Senate for next phase (404) 656-0152, Locate your Senator and and start calling and Faxing their office in HOPES the Bill will Pass the House JUDICIARYCOMMITTEE then need SENATEPRESSURE. Contact Head of Senate Casey Cagle and then your District Senator. www.facebook.com/letters4support ) ~ Alan Fountain

Barbara Blaine, founder of SNAP, passed away on Sunday, September 24th, 2017. Her dying was sudden and completely unexpected. Words cannot express our sorrow nor are there words to express our gratitude for her relentless advocacy. She truly was a hero. There is an old saying, “well behaved women seldom make history”. Barbara made history and the world is a better place.